Cressida Dick: Britain’s most senior police officer says she’s ‘a bit different’ and admits she cannot smell cannabis

Top police chief says her sexuality is ‘one of the least interesting things' about herself

Britain’s most senior police officer became the first female and first openly gay Commissioner of the Met when she took up the role in 2017 (PA)

Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick has said her image of being “a bit different” has encouraged young people from a range of backgrounds to think about applying to the force.

Britain’s most senior police officer became the first female and first openly gay commissioner of the Met when she took up the role in 2017.

During an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, the officer also admitted that she is unable to smell cannabis.

She said: “The fact that I am seen as a bit different in some respects I realise, on some occasions, makes young people think: ‘I could have a go,’ or: ‘I might try, I feel different but I might try.’”

Ms Dick said her sexuality is “one of the least interesting things” about herself, adding: “I happen to love Helen, she’s my partner, on we go.”

The 58-year-old said she wanted to see an increase in the number of female police officers, adding: “In the long term, in order for us to have the best of the best, I would like it to be 50/50.”

But she said this is not likely to be achieved during her leadership of the force.

Ms Dick told presenter Lauren Laverne the police force was considerably more inclusive than it was when she embarked on her career in 1983.

“When I joined there was probably one woman in the CID office and one in the crime squad and just two of us on a team of about 40 or 50 people,” she said.

“I think, particularly perhaps for gay men, actually it is has changed enormously in that time, but I would be naive if I thought it was plain sailing for everybody.

“What I can say is that if I take you to see my response teams, there are people of all shapes and sizes and lots of lots of openly gay people, and the guys and girls just don’t think twice about it.”

She said she was keen for people from all “ethnic backgrounds, religious backgrounds, sexuality, gender” to feel like the Met “is their own” and is a positive and safe place to work.

The book she would take to the desert island with her is the complete works of novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, while her luxury item would be soap.

“Scent is very important to me but it is the case that my colleagues think it is hilarious that I simply cannot smell, ever, the smell of cannabis,” Ms Dick said.

The Oxford-born officer also discussed starting out in the police force after a stint working in a fish and chip shop run by a man who kept a baseball bat behind the counter.

At the age of 23 she became a police officer in Soho in London’s West End – coping with the area’s notorious sex trade and nightlife.

“I loved the idea that at three or four in the morning it was just me there,” she told presenter Lauren Laverne.

“That is the great thing about policing, you do have a lot of responsibility very early and you have got to make decisions, sometimes life and death decisions, very quickly and there is something about putting a uniform on and thinking ‘people are looking to me to make decisions and to look after them’ that makes you feel capable.”

Ms Dick also discussed her role in the death of a Brazilian man who was wrongly shot dead by police marksmen at Stockwell station, south London, in 2005.

Electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot seven times in the head by firearms officers.

She came under scrutiny as she was in charge of the operation that led to his death, but was later absolved of any blame by a jury.

She described it as an “awful time”, saying: “I think about it quite often.”

“I wish, wish, wish it hadn’t happened, of course, but if anything it has made me a better leader, a better police officer and it has made me more resilient,” the officer said.

She picked tracks including “In Private” by Dusty Springfield, “Me and Bobby McGee” by Kris Kristofferson and hymn “Lord of All Hopefulness” to take to the desert island with her.